What influences were present in Salah ad-Din’s ingenious military strategies, and how did these tactics define him as one of the world’s greatest military leaders of all time?

INTRODUCTION:
“Then they brought up the Muslim prisoners whose martyrdom God had ordained, more than three thousand men in chains. They fell on them as one man and slaughtered them in cold blood, with sword and lance” (qdt. Gabrieli 224). On August 20th, 1191, Richard I, King of England, broke his word to Salah ad-Din, and had over three thousand Muslim prisoners from the garrison of Acre killed (qdt. Gabrieli 224). The brutality of King Richard I was a common form of warfare during this time period, and for many time periods before and after. Throughout time, many millions of wars have been fought by people unparalleled in time, by tyrants and messiah alike. The world has seen such leaders as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, and others. During this time [the 3rd Crusade], numerous leaders rose to the challenge presented to them, and have successfully become great leaders of their time. Among these leaders emerged the Sultan of Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and Mesopotamia and the commander of the Muslim army, Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known to the west as Saladin.
All great leaders had individual motivations and style of warfare. To most of them, these motivations were such things as wealth, power, land, resources, and similar materialistic goods. Likewise their fighting styles were comparable as well. Many were merciless killing machines, often considered a measure of their greatness- the more battles they won, the more land, wealth, and power they gained. Salah ad-Din’s own motivations and style greatly differed from those previously mentioned. Salah ad-Din’s motivations lay in regaining the Holy Land for religious reasons. And his style was that which had been prescribed to the Muslims by God in the Qur’an. When Salah ad-Din took prisoners during the 3rd Crusade, he did not kill them mercilessly as Richard I did to the Muslim prisoners, but rather ransomed them back to Richard I, out of generosity. Salah ad-Din’s military tactic followed the Islamic Shari’a of war to the best of his ability and understanding. On and off the battlefield, he acted in accordance with the tenants of Islam. During the Battle of Arsuf, Richard I was badly wounded and fell ill. Salah ad-Din sent in his finest physicians to aid him back to health. Also, when Richard’s army was in need of supplies, food, or anything else, he would request aid from Salah ad-Din, because he knew his needs would not be refused. This was because of Salah ad-Din’s exceptional character. Some historians argue that these actions were out of kindness and had no correlation with his strategy. Although other historians take the stand that Salah ad-Din’s actions were used as opportunities and chances to improve his strategies and keep the Christian crusaders on their knees. The more sustenance that Richard’s army sought, the more Salah ad-Din was able to progress his plans to win the war (Lawson).
The Christians of Europe began the 3rd Crusade, and the duty to defend the Muslim city of Jerusalem fell into the lap of Salah ad-Din. Since he was living in the city at the time, he knew the ups and downs of the city; he was able to make this into a big part of how he planned to defeat the Christian crusaders. His attacks on the crusaders were devastating and led to a victory for the Muslims.
Much of this essay’s declarations are taken from the work of James Reston Jr. His book, Warriors of God was one of the main sources of information for the completion of this paper. “A refreshing unbiased popular history of the Third Crusade” (The Washington Post Book World). Reston is a lecturer on the crusades, a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C., has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome and a scholar in residence at the Library of Congress. Reston’s vast knowledge of this subject area has made him somewhat of a credible source; but since the book was written post September 11th, 2001, his personal bias as a Christian (at a time when ‘Muslims’ are the enemy) has applied limitations on his writing.
This essay will focus on the influences which affected Salah ad-Din’s military strategies, and why they were important in deciding the outcome of the war in favor of Salah ad-Din and the Muslims. Salah ad-Din ’s firm faith in Islam and deep knowledge of its military rulings, which were instilled upon him at a young age, were major influences in his war strategy, in turn, has helped to rank him among the greatest leaders of his time. Researching Salah ad-Din’s early life and how he was raised will help in understanding why his tactics consisted of what they did. And once the basis of his strategies are understood, it will be easier to assess their bearing on defining him as one of the greatest military leaders the world has ever known.
EARLY INFLUENCES:
Growing up, Salah ad-Din was exposed to Islam in all walks of life, always making it his first priority, which in the long run contributed to his ability to compose strategy in a manner pleasing to his beliefs; yet, still great enough to achieve victories over the Christian Crusaders. Salah ad-Din was born into a Muslim family in Iraq, and was thus raised as a Muslim. Though he was born in Iraq, he grew up in Damascus, Syria, where the Qur’an was the center of the education system, and “…the principle of striving in Allah’s cause was emphasized” (Reston 5). Nothing was more important, and religion was never pushed aside; “He never omitted the canonic prayer except when he was at death’s door in the last three days of his life, during which time he was unconscious” (qdt. Gabrieli 88). This emphasis was put on the prayer so early in Salah ad-Din’s life that he held it with such esteem. Considering the difficulty in always making every prescribed prayer, and seeing that Salah ad-Din was not conflicted by it, it is obvious that there was nothing that could hold him back from trying to fulfill his religious obligations. Even in times of war, for an entire decade, Salah ad-Din was in effort to rebuild the Arab nations in to one empire, he did not miss his prayers. As a child, Salah ad-Din never dreamed of being a great leader, or historic figure. When he got his first chance at power, it meant nearly nothing to him. In the spring of 1170, when Salah ad-Din had successfully taken over Cairo, he was willing to give rule to his father, Najm ad-Din; when Salah ad-Din offered, his father said to him, “O my son, God would not have chosen you to fill this position if you were not deserving of it” (Reston 5). Nur ad Din, Salah ad-Din’s predecessor, ruled in a non-secular, Islamic method; and since it was he who raised and educated Salah ad-Din, Salah ad-Din ruled in a similar fashion. Salah ad-Din held the values that he was raised on very dearly: He always made sure that everything he did was within the boundaries of Islam. As this essay proceeds, more examples of his religious dedication will be provided.
Salah ad-Din’s uniting of the Arab nations can also be considered as an example of his brilliant militaristic mind. Salah ad-Din spent almost an entire decade in attempt to unify the Arab lands [the lands of Nur- ad Din; his predecessor] under his authority, and create a single Sunni-Muslim community. Through the unification of all the Muslims under a single umbrella Salah ad-Din was able to set the single goal of keeping the Kingdom of Heaven from the Christian Crusaders (Reston 5). Salah ad-Din’s knowledge of militaristic views came from his accompaniment of Nur ad-Din on his [Nur ad-Din’s] war campaigns (Reston 6). It was on these tours, during Salah ad-Din’s childhood, that Salah ad-Din came to learn the intricate details of war and the conditions and ruling that Islam has placed on it . And when it was his turn to lead he put these learned values to good use (Reston 10).
ISLAM’S INFLUENCES:
The doctrine of Islam was Salah ad-Din’s direction, under which he acted in terms of his mannerisms and conduct during the Third Crusade. “Salah ad-Din had set his claim to be serving Islam against the obvious accusations of self seeking” (Lyons and Jackson 97). Salah ad-Din aspiration as leader was to serve God, not to make himself more known, His leniency was a reflection of his theological beliefs. From the records of Baha ad-Din, one of Salah ad-Din’s close contemporaries and a main source of documentation of Salah ad-Din’s life; “Salah ad-Din was a man of firm faith, who often had God’s name on his lips” (qdt. Gabrieli 87). Salah ad-Din always behaved in a manner in which he felt would be pleasing to his God. Though it is true that due to Baha ad-Din’s relationship with Salah ad-Din, there is much bias in favor of Salah ad-Din presented in his documentation; but this is a sacrifice to be able to gain such intimate knowledge of Salah ad-Din’s life. It is from examples such as this that we can see that Salah ad-Din was recorded as a very selfless ruler, filled with mercy, generosity, and leniency. This was furthermore exhibited after the initial conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. As Salah ad-Din’s contemporaries were reaching their verdict, on the keeping or destroying of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher , Salah ad-Din made his decision which was not to be questioned. His response was a true representation of high moral character and class. Salah ad-Din said, “To be a good Muslim was to venerate the holy sites of all religions” (Reston 79). This again can be shown as a reflection of his belief in Islam, “…and those among men who pardon others, and God loves those who act rightly” (English Translation of the Meaning of Al- Quran 3.128). The judgment made was after the discovery of the vandalisms and moral destruction of the Dome of the Rock ; “…with graven images of animals, including the images of unclean pigs…It was decorated with frescoes depicting the adulterous woman…” (Reston 79). Such spiteful and disgusting images, yet the church was left unharmed. Salah ad-Din’s forgiveness and mercy were directly related to his principles of faith. “He was indulgent to those who failed and slow to wrath” (qdt. Gabrieli 106). As God is All Merciful, Salah ad-Din tried to show the same characteristic in his dealings with people.
His mercy was thus exhibited again during the war in itself, in his actions towards aiding Richard I and the Christian Crusader army in their times of need. Since the Christian army was fighting from outside the city, they were often running low on sustenance. Salah ad-Din, out of his kindness and generosity would send a small number of his troops into the Christian camps with such things as fresh fruit and frozen snow [ice] and other necessities (Fletcher). There are opposing views by historians as to the real motives behind these actions; these differences in opinion are theologically divided. Arab historians, such as Baha ad-Din and Abu Shama believe that Salah ad-Din’s actions in the aid of Richard I were out of kindness of heart, and based on the values of Islam. On the other hand, many European Christians such as William Stubs in his book, Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi, portrays Salah ad-Din “as a figure with many negative qualities”; and Ambroise who also presents many negative views of Salah ad-Din, argue that Salah ad-Din sent in spies to make specific observations on the state of Richard’s artillery, food, mental health status, etc. and used these details to conjure up more ingenious plans to successfully destroy the Christian forces (Lawson). Though the standpoints of each set of authors are understood to have biases and limitations, through previously mentioned analysis, it would have been against Salah ad-Din’s principles to be such a conniving and devious person.
Salah ad-Din’s form and style of combat also very much reflected the manner of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad PBUH and the earlier Muslim leaders. He always instructed his armies in a manner which was both moral and in strict accordance with the command of the Prophet (Reston):
“See that you avoid treachery. Depart not in any wise from the right. Do not mutilate any one. You should not kill children, women, or old men. Do not injure the date palm; do not burn it. Do not cut down any tree wherein there is food for men and beasts. Do not slay the flocks of herds of camels save for needful sustenance. You may eat of the meat that the men of the land may bring to you in their vessels, making mention thereon of the name of Allah. Do not molest the monks in the churches, and leave them to themselves. Now march forward in the name of God. Fulfill the mission entrusted to you. May Allah protect you from sword and pestilence” (Hasan 108)!
This beautifully constructed declaration by Abu Bakr, the first caliphate of Islam and best friend to Prophet Muhammad PBUH, is overrun with the direct commandments from Allah. Just as the Muslims of old had viewed their battles as forms of Jihad, Salah ad-Din did the same; fighting off the Crusaders and protecting Jerusalem was seen as protecting God’s Holy Land. Seeing as Salah ad-Din’s orders were in great alliance with these words, it is shown that Salah ad-Din was not only firm in his belief during his everyday life, but also on the battlefield.
Salah ad-Din not only incorporated Muslim beliefs on the battlefield, but also treated the aftermath of the war with the same approach. Usually after any battle, troops from either side are taken prisoner by the opposing force. In the case of the captured Christians, they were treated with respect and eventually ransomed back to Richard I. Salah ad-Din approached the situation in this manner because that was the way specified in the Qur’an:
“…take prisoners of war and bind them firmly. After the war lay down her burdens, then you have the choice whether you show them favor or accept ransom. Thus are you commanded. If Allah wanted, He Himself could have punished them; but He adopted this way so that He may test some of you by means of others. As for those who are slain in the cause of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost” (English Translation of the Meaning of Al- Quran 47.4).
Islamic belief is that God, in this verse, is describing a just conduct towards prisoners of war. In the first line it says, “…you have the choice whether you show them favor or accept ransom…” nowhere in here is the option to ruthlessly murder them. Throughout the 3rd Crusade, there have been very few documented massacres by Salah ad-Din. One such occasion was when Salah ad-Din became infuriated by Richard’s actions against the Muslims prisoners from The Battle of Acre. Richard I had massacred more than three thousand Muslims; as a spur of the moment response, which he later regretted because he knew he had done wrong, Salah ad-Din slaughtered the Templar and Hospitaller prisoners and executed Reginald of Kerak. Salah ad-Din later felt remorse over his brutal actions against the strict rulings of Islam (Lawson). In the rest of the verse, the Qur’an goes on to say that it is not for people to decide the destiny or punishment for their enemies after the war; “…. If Allah wanted, He Himself could have punished them …” that judgment is for God alone. Salah ad-Din understood this, and for this reason he returned the Christians to their leader. Through the duration of the war, Salah ad-Din always tried his best to make sure his actions were in line with the Islamic rulings.
CONTRASTING PERSPECTIVES:
As a prominent figure in the Muslim World, and the commander of the Muslim forces in the 3rd Crusade, Salah ad-Din was prone to much praise as well as criticism. His praise was sung from all sides of the Muslim World—the newly established Ayyubin Dynasty; though not exclusively, in which case would have been considered bias praise. The Christians regarded him as a great Muslim hero. But of course the majority of the criticism also built up in the same place: the European Christians.
The Muslims saw Salah ad-Din as a brilliant leader, and a person that constantly kept God in mind. “Islam was now awake to drive away the night phantom of unbelief” (Lyons and Jackson 202); this was after Salah ad-Din had become Sultan of the Syria and Egypt. His people said this out of confidence in Salah ad-Din’s strength and knowledge that his inspiration came from his unyielding devotion to Islam, which had been so long lacked in the hearts of the Muslims. Moreover this is proof that Salah ad-Din’s rule of the Arab nations came not from a hostile tyrannical take-over that thrived on the fear of its subjects, but rather Salah ad-Din was given a small bit of power by his predecessor, Nur ad-Din, and with it was able to show his capabilities and unite all of Arabia for the first time since the times of the first caliphates of Islam.
Salah ad-Din was revered by his army to be a very compassionate and religious leader. As the army would be marching from battle to battle, tired and exhausted, Salah ad-Din would stop and get off of his horse to pray when the time came. Even though the Qur’an states that during travel and when in the danger of the unbelievers [war], shortening of the prayer is allowed, and even encouraged; “When you travel in the earth, there is no blame on you if you shorten your prayers, especially when you fear that the unbelievers may attack you…” (English Translation of the Meaning of Al- Quran 4.101) During the battles of the Muhammad PBUH, the soldiers would shorten their prayers out of tiredness and danger of the unbelievers [war]; yet Salah ad-Din would make sure to observe the full prayer (qdt. Gabrieli 88). His compassion was presented numerously during the crusade, especially in his times of aid to Richard I and his army. The previously mentioned characteristics of Salah ad-Din were known throughout neighboring countries; which greatly contributed to his success as the head of the Muslim state.
Furthermore, the Muslim soldiers saw Salah ad-Din as an ingenious military leader, who was able to lead his armies to countless great victories. Not only his immense knowledge of Islam, but also his knowledge of the city of Jerusalem came to be extremely important aspects of how he defeated the Christian Crusaders. Since Salah ad-Din was living in Jerusalem during the time of the Third Crusade, he was able to make note of where places of military advantage and disadvantage were. He was able to determine where he needed to station his troops in places, with much fruitful vegetation, where the Muslims would have a tactical advantage over the fighting the Christians (Reston 53). Using this knowledge, not only was Salah ad-Din able to know where to keep his army, he was able to know where to lure the Christians, as to again, give himself the upper hand (Reston 53). Because of Salah ad-Din’s broad knowledge, he was able to gain the trust and belief in him from his army; this trust led to Salah ad-Din ultimate authority over the Muslims.
From the onset of Salah ad-Din’s conquest of Arabia and Mesopotamia, and his reception of authority over the Muslim world, Salah ad-Din had been very well known and respected amongst the European Christians (Lawson). This admiration came from Salah ad-Din’s actions of compassion and respect towards his people. That is why during the Third Crusade Richard relied on Salah ad-Din, “…the enemy of the English Crusades…” (Reston). Richard knew that when he requested aid from Salah ad-Din, Salah ad-Din’s character would not allow him to refuse. At the end of the war, after The Battle of Acre, when Richard I and Salah ad-Din were settling on the Treaty of Ramla , Richard I suggested to Salah ad-Din that his [Salah ad-Din’s] brother marry Richard’s sister and the city of Jerusalem be given to them as a wedding gift (Fletcher). The treaty represents Salah ad-Din’s generosity, considering that the Muslims clearly won, but the Christians were not exiled from the land.
“On March 4th, 1193, Salah ad-Din died, known as a great Muslim hero, after successfully beating all of the crusades” (Lawson). Salah ad-Din has been placed in many lists of being one of the greatest Muslims to ever live; in K.J Ahmad’s book Hundred Great Muslims, and of being one of the greatest military leaders to ever live as well, in Mark Grossman’s World Military Leaders. Salah ad-Din died revered by all as a great person and an incredible military leader..

CONCLUSION:
The reason for the in depth study of this topic was due to the rising interest in the era of the crusades. After the events of September 11th, 2001, more people have shown interest in knowing what actually happened during the crusades. This was because 9-11 helped in the enthusiastic re-emergence of the conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims. People know that the Muslims won some and the Christians won some, but they do not know which ones, why, or what happened. Salah ad-Din is a very well known leader in the middle-east and in Muslim homes; yet Christians and others are unaware of his incredible accomplishments as the commander of the Muslim army from 1187-1193. This essay has served the purpose of understanding Salah ad-Din’s actions, influences and legacy.
The content of this paper has been researched and analyzed using many resources. Though there have been many resources used, the credibility of all of the authors are not certain. The few that have been specifically addressed and heavily relied upon have been proven to be credible, but also have presented many biases. Though there is much bias due to the origin of the information, the credibility was sacrificed in order to receive such intimate details about Salah ad-Din [from the records of Baha ad-Din]; this information was able to be used objectively.
From Salah ad-Din’s childhood, to his golden years as a great leader all the way through old age, to death, Salah ad-Din was always a God fearing man. He based his life around Islam, which never lost importance. When conflicts presented themselves, between will and desire or religion and God, religion always won. Islamic principle was always taken into consideration when Salah ad-Din wished to take any action. His strategies and tactics during the era of the third crusade never deliberately defied the Shari’a law. The one, previously mentioned instance when Salah ad-Din out of rage and frustration executed the Christian soldiers, it is recorded that he felt remorse, supplicated to God for forgiveness, and never did such a hateful deed again (Lawson). Salah ad-Din’s life of humility and piety has left him a popular legacy in the eyes of all Muslims and of lovers of religion and history throughout the world.

Works Cited
Ad-Din, Imad, and Baha Ad-Din. “Saladin and the Third Crsudae.” Arab Historians of the Crusades. Trans. Francesco Gabrieli. The Islamic World. Los Angelos: University of California Press, 1969. 87-252. This book was used to get biographical information on Salah ad-Din. Also, it gave an Arab/ Muslim point of view. The translations were of primary sources. Imad ad-Din and Baha ad-Din were Salah ad-Din’s officials and household retainers at the time of the 3rd Crusade. Since they were with Salah ad-Din basically all the time, this added to their credibility. Though their views may have been bias, but very few others were close enough to him to get such personal information. Many quotations of Baha ad-Din have been taken from the book as supporting evidence of certain claims. The translator, Francesco Gabriele learned Arabic at the University of Rome
English Translation of the Meaning of Al- Quran. Trans. Farooq Malik. Houston: The Institute of Islamic Knowledge, n.d. I used some verses from the Qur’an to emphasize how many of Salah ad-Din’s mannerisms in the 3rd Crusade were in compliance with Islam. Farooq Malik is has translated and commentated on the Qur’an in English, and is now working on a version in Spanish. The fact that his Translation is now used by scholars, and sold world wide as a modern day translation, makes Malik a credible translator of the Qur’an.
Hasan, Masudul. “Encounter wiith the Tribes.” Hadrat Abu Bakr. By Masudul Hasan. Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Publications Ltd., 1984. 108. This chapter was cited in my argument about how Salah ad-Din gave the same speech to his armies before every battle that the Prophet Muhammad did during his time. The author of this book, Masudul Hasan is a proffessor in Pakistan. He is credible because his has written many books on specific Islamic leaders, therefore making him knowledgeable in this area.
Lawson, Rich. “Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade.” Shadowed Realm - Medieval History Community . 1 Feb. 2008. 10 Apr. 2008 . Information on opposing views of historians was taken from this as well as a few quotes. Rich Lawson graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a second major in history; with his major area of concentration being ancient-medieval Europe. This makes him credible because he is specialized in the time period of the crusades.
Lyons, Malcolm Cameron, and D.E.P Jackson. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. This book was used to get background information on Saladin. Both authors are Arabic Lecturers at different Universities. The book has information on the the Third Crusade, and the way Saladin acted during this time. The information found in this book about Saladin’s war policies directly address one of the sub-headings of the analysis.
Reston, James, Jr. Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade. Doubleday: Random House Inc., 2001. Information about the Saladin was taken from this book. Many quotations were also used to support claims in the paper. Reston is a renowned author of 13 books; many on histories of different things. Has appeared on NPR, and other places. His experience in this area makes him a credible source.
Richard The Lionheart Massacres The Saracens, 1191. 2001. Eye Witness to History. 3 Apr. 2008 . A quote was taken from this site, and used as my hook intro. The site seems to be a credible sources because it is an academic database of primary sources.
Stubbs, William. Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi. 1864. Trans. Helen Nicholson. Vol. 1. Chronicles and Memorials of the Reign of Richard I. Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1997. Even though this book is a memorial for Richard I, it presents information on Salah ad-Din. This information has a European bias, which helped contribute to the sub-section of Perspectives. Stubbs was an English Historian of the Richard I. He is credible because of his knowledge of history. Helen Nicholson is a lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Wales, Cardiff,and writes on the history of the Military Orders in the Middle East and Europe. This contributes to her credibility because her studies of the Middle East and Europe have forced her to learn their languages. So she was easily able to translate this source.
Tyerman, Christopher. “The Third Crusade.” God’s War. By Christopher Tyerman. Belknap: The Penguin Group, 2006. 341-448. This book was used to see more of Salah ad-Din’s actions, and be able to further assess the bearing of Islam on his life. The author Christopher Tyerman is a lecturer on the crusades and middle ages at Oxford University in England. His extensive knowledge on the events of time period make him a credible source of information.

Bibliography
Ad-Din, Imad, and Baha Ad-Din. “Saladin and the Third Crsudae.” Arab Historians of the Crusades. Trans. Francesco Gabrieli. The Islamic World. Los Angelos: University of California Press, 1969. 87-252.
Ahmad, K J. “Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi.” Humdred Great Muslims. By K J Ahmad. Chicago: Library of Islam, 1987. 465-470.
English Translation of the Meaning of Al- Quran. Trans. Farooq Malik. Houston: The Institute of Islamic Knowledge, n.d.
Grossman, Mark, ed. World Military Leaders : A Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 3. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Made a refrence to the book, saying that Salah ad-Din was mentioned in this book of military leaders.
Gullen, M Fethullah. “Some rules in the struggles in the way of God.” Prophet Muhammad as Commander. By M Fethullah Gullen. Turkey: Kaynak, 1998. 31-39.
Haque, Muhammad Shamsul, Ph.D. Life of Prophet Muhammad: The Final Messenger With His Sermons and Treaties. Silver Spring, MD: Namuk International Inc., 1993.
Hasan, Masudul. “Encounter wiith the Tribes.” Hadrat Abu Bakr. By Masudul Hasan. Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Publications Ltd., 1984. 108.
Holt, P.M. The Age of the Crusades. New York: Logman Group Limited, 1986. A single chapter was used in this book.
Lawson, Rich. “Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade.” Shadowed Realm - Medieval History Community . 1 Feb. 2008. 10 Apr. 2008 .
Lyons, Malcolm Cameron, and D.E.P Jackson. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Trans. Jon Rothschild. London: Al Saqi Books, 1983.
Rahman, Afzalur. Muhammad as a Military Leader. Delhi: Noor Publishing House, 1992.
Regan, Geoffrey. Lionhearts: Saladin, Richard I, and the Era of the Third Crusade. New York: Walker and Company, 1998. This was a book about Saladin and Richard I; their lives, and fights through the crusades. I used it for information on the 3rd crusade, and to see how Saladin conducted himself as a military leader. Regan [the author] is said to be a military historian, which makes the information about Saladin in a miliary way more reliable.
Reston, James, Jr. Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade. Doubleday: Random House Inc., 2001.
Richard The Lionheart Massacres The Saracens, 1191. 2001. Eye Witness to History. 3 Apr. 2008 .
Stubbs, William. Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi. 1864. Trans. Helen Nicholson. Vol. 1. Chronicles and Memorials of the Reign of Richard I. Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1997.
Tyerman, Christopher. “The Third Crusade.” God’s War. By Christopher Tyerman. Belknap: The Penguin Group, 2006. 341-448.